Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
New Albany grades C overall, 36th among Mississippi's 99 graded towns, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. On the other side, residents are less healthy than 90% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. It also does better than most on schools: its schools rank ahead of 72% of Mississippi towns. Its lowest everyday mark is in incomes: the median household income is $51K, and 15% of residents live below the poverty line. A typical home there costs about $213K, 3.8 years of the county’s $56K median household income. 33% of working residents work locally in New Albany, against 19% in Mississippi’s towns and 8% across U.S. towns. On hazard risk, just 13 of Mississippi’s 187 towns do better. New Albany's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 91% of U.S. towns.
Where New Albany beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Census counts: 250 in 1880, 7,626 in 2020. The archive holds 27 old photos and papers going back to 1909 and 2 maps from 1951 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Mississippi), ordered by how far New Albany is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in New Albany, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in New Albany.
New Albany fares better on crime within Mississippi than nationally, draws workers from Tupelo and beyond and looks healthier within Mississippi than nationally.
6,567 jobs are based in New Albany, 2.1 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 18.4 minutes, against 25.6 across Mississippi.
About one in 3 of New Albany’s working residents works in town. The average trip to work in New Albany is 18 minutes. Since 2013, New Albany has added 484 jobs, to 6,567 in 2023.
| New Albany | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $51,000 | $50,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the New Albany Public Schools. Two of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is New Albany High School, with 605 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Albany Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 1,074 | A− |
| New Albany High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 605 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MS on state tests and graduation
Within Mississippi it is less healthy than 55% of the 101 graded towns: much of Mississippi scores lower on these measures.
47% of adults have high blood pressure in New Albany. New Albany beats the Mississippi average on 0 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 3. 37% of adults get no exercise outside work in New Albany.
| New Albany | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 47% | 45% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 36% | 25% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 16% | 12% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 42% | 35% |
| What stands out | New Albany | MS |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 26.2% | 18.5% |
| More uninsured adults | 14.4% | 11.5% |
| More adults who have had a stroke | 5% | 4.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
3.6 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Shady Dell Park, at 25 acres.
| New Albany | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1.1% | 2.9% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Park Along the River and Mississippi Arboretum | 2 mi | 97 |
| 2. Shady Dell Park | 0.1 mi | 25 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
New Albany’s FEMA risk score is 31 of 100. Since 1983, 14 flood insurance claims have been paid out in New Albany.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
July afternoons average 90.5°: hotter than most of the country, but cooler than 84% of Mississippi places with climate records; January nights average 31.3°.
New Albany has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Among 101 Mississippi towns, just 5 have a lower January low than New Albany. About 1 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| New Albany | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 31°F | 36°F | 22°F |
| July high | 91°F | 91°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Typical home values rose 8% in the year to September 2026.
| New Albany | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 62% | 62% | 73% |
| Median rent | $973 a month | $900 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Mississippi average. 26% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 25% across Mississippi.
| New Albany | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 24% | 24% | 22% |
| Median age | 38.4 years | 37 years | 40.5 years |
53% women, 47% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.8 points. Across Mississippi, 51.5% of residents are women.
| New Albany | MS | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 15.6% | 12.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.3% | 11.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9.8% | 9.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.8% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 9.3% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.9% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.7% | 12.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9% | 10.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9.6% | 6.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 14.4% | 12.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 27.1% | 29.9% | 26% |
| Some college | 20.3% | 21.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12.4% | 10.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 14.1% | 15.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 11.7% | 9.9% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
At 16.5 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 77% of Mississippi’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 162 to 70 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Among 57 Mississippi towns, just 5 have a lower violent crime rate than New Albany.
| New Albany | Mississippi towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.4 per 1,000 residents | 2.3 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 8.6 per 1,000 residents | 17.3 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
1 within 15 miles of the center of New Albany
About 5 of every 100 New Albany residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Mississippi.
Where New Albany’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
3 places in New Albany on the National Register of Historic Places.
12 notable people were born in New Albany.
City in Mississippi, United States
New Albany is a city in and the county seat of Union County, Mississippi, United States. According to the 2020 United States census, the population was 7,626. It is notable as the birthplace of Nobel Prize-winning author William Faulkner and as the northern gateway to the Tanglefoot Trail.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
New Albany grades C overall, better than 31% of U.S. towns and #36 of 99 in Mississippi. It grades D for health, B for safety and B+ for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
12 notable people were born here, including William Faulkner and Hubert D. Stephens.
